I Saw Your Face in A Crowded Place
by Definitely-yesterday
Summary: One shot based off the following prompt: Imagine your OTP meet on some form of public transportation. There are no seats left so Person A and B are both standing. Person A is admiring B and gets so distracted that they lose their grip on the pole/bar/loop and fall forward onto Person B when the bus they are on comes to an abrupt stop. Modern AU (kinda).


**Author's note:** Not beta read. All grammatical mistakes and spelling errors are mine.

* * *

Merlin had been laying on his double bed after turning off his fifth alarm for the morning. It was now 7:30 AM and his boss expected him to be at work by 8:30. Merlin usually cut it as close as possible. In fact, as he lie in bed, he considered setting an alarm for 7:45 and dozing back off. He didn't need _that_ much time to shower, grab something to eat, and catch the bus at 8:00 but he certainly could use more sleep. Merlin rarely slept well these days. Mostly due to recurring nightmares from his distant past. Arthur's prone body flashed in his mind and he felt a twinge of pain in his chest. Merlin sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He sighed and pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes, trying to rub away the image. The warlock looked at the alarm clock again which read 7:35. He stood up, stretched, and headed to his tiny bathroom in his small apartment.

Merlin stared into the mirror as he waited for the shower water to get hot. He frowned at his youthful reflection. He hadn't seemed to be aging since Arthur… He had stopped that train of thought. He quickly showered then headed to his kitchen to make coffee. He scrolled through the news app on his cell phone as the pot of coffee brewed. This was the year the prophecy told that Arthur would rise again. He had been searching the news for months, though he wasn't sure exactly what he should be looking for. Maybe a headline reading, _Mystery Man Rescued from Lake of Avalon, Claims to be True Ruler of the Land_. Or perhaps, _Armored Man Found on Shore of Lake of Avalon Demanding Location of Servant_. Merlin smiled and shook his head. He set down his phone and reached for the freshly brewed coffee. He absentmindedly poured it into a plain blue mug in thought. Perhaps he was mistaken in his interpretation of the prophecy. Maybe the year has yet to come. He sipped his coffee and thought that he should go back out to the lake just to check things out. He hadn't gone in a few weeks, because as soon as it was the prophesized year, Merlin found himself spending all of his free time sitting on the shores of Avalon.

He decided he would spend some time at the lake this evening after he finished his shift as a pharmacy technician. The warlock went to take another drink of his coffee only to find the mug empty. He turned and set the mug in the sink and checked his watch. It was 7:55. Merlin grabbed his messenger bag by the door which was stuffed full of grimoires with glamour to make them look like different novels. He then wrapped his red scarf around his neck over his blue t-shirt, and slipped on his brown winter jacket and leather boots. He shoved his phone into a pocket on his bag then glanced around the small apartment. Once he was sure he had all he needed, he headed out the door.

* * *

Merlin shivered as he waited for the bus, which was unusually late this morning. He looked at his watch for what was probably the fifth time in three minutes and noted it was almost 8:10. The bus ride to the pharmacy was usually about 15 minutes, so he would be cutting it close this morning. Merlin adjusted the earbuds connected to his phone that was playing music. He bounced on his toes to try to keep warm. Just when he was going to look at his watch again, the bus pulled up. He quickly boarded the bus after two people who were standing in front of him. As he made his way down the aisle to his usual spot. He pulled his phone from the pocket on his messenger bag and scrolled through his morning commute playlist and chose a new song to listen to, 'You're Beautiful' by James Blunt.

He briefly looked up to grab onto the bar above his head as he tapped the song to start it. As the bus moved, Merlin thought maybe he should choose another song. Maybe something more upbeat. As he scrolled through his phone, he didn't noticed the nearby blue eyes scrutinizing his profile.

* * *

Arthur Pendragon hated riding the bus. As a matter of fact, there were many things he hated about the future, but the bus was in the top five number of things he still hadn't quite gotten used to. He felt like he had no personal space on the crowded vehicle. People breathed on him, coughed on him, and were often pressed elbow-to-elbow with him. Yet he had managed to adjust over the last year. His body found nude by an elderly man, Gary, on the shore of Lake of Avalon and taken care of until he had finally awoken days later. When asked who he was and what he was doing laying naked on the lake shore, Arthur struggled to recall anything other than his own name and another's, Merlin. However, as weeks and months passed, his memory became clearer and he recalled exactly who he was. Luckily enough for him, Gary took all of this in stride and allowed him to stay with him, as long as he was able to work and contribute to the household. Arthur agreed and quickly accepted a job that Gary said was "under the table" that would allow the once king to work without having the correct identification. Arthur was an employee of a cleaning company often hired to clean high-scale nightclubs.

The irony was not lost on Arthur that he had become a servant of sorts, but he was happy to lend aid to Gary since he so selflessly helped him. Besides the cleaning allowed him the chance to catch up on musical advances and think about how he would locate Merlin. After almost a year, Arthur had decided that he had more than overstayed his welcome at Gary's and managed to secure a small studio apartment on his own. Despite moving out, he kept his same job and he still often visited with the older man. However, he now had to routinely take the bus to the cleaning company's headquarters when he was able to walk before. Arthur usually showed up to work relatively early. He often rose early and felt he had nothing better to do, so he went to work. However, this morning he was running late. Well not late. He was going to be exactly on time if he calculated right but it felt late to him. Instead of waking up to his 6:00 alarm, he had slept through it and awoken at 7:30.

He was standing on the bus and staring out one of the nearby windows when someone who had just boarded the bus grabbed the pole beside his hand. He glanced over and saw the profile and dark hair of a young man. Arthur's heart slammed against his chest. The profile was so very familiar. The dark-haired man was looking down at his phone with earbuds in. A name echoed in his ears.

"Merlin," Arthur whispered.

* * *

Merlin felt a chill go down his spine and frowned. It wasn't unpleasant just unexpected. He looked up and was about to glance around when the bus stopped suddenly at his stop and he felt a body knock into his. He stumbled forward but a hand caught his arm. He didn't look to see who the hand belonged to but mumbled a thanks and quickly went to exit the bus.

* * *

Arthur had been so busy staring at the attractive young man that he hadn't realized he loosened his grip on the metal bar which resulted in him colliding with the man. _Merlin_ , his mind insisted. _Your Merlin_. When he realized he almost knocked the man (Merlin) over, he managed to shoot out a hand and grab his arm before he fell to the ground. Arthur heard him murmur a thank you and then exit the bus. Arthur hesitated for a minute unsure what to do. His destination wasn't for two more stops, but he had to fully see the man's face. He had to know if it _was_ Merlin. If it was _his_ Merlin. Arthur bolted for the exit right before the doors began to close and followed the dark-haired man down the sidewalk.

* * *

Merlin had stopped off to the side of the sidewalk to scroll for a new song when he heard his name being called. He took out an earbud and tilted his head to see if he heard it again. Just when he was about to replace it, he heard it again from behind him and he turned around. If not for the earbud still remaining in his right ear, his phone would've dropped to the ground instead of dangling from the headphone cord. Merlin gaped as he saw Arthur standing before him.

"Arthur?" Merlin said astonished.

The blonde man stepped forward and wrapped his arms around the warlock and said, "Merlin."

Merlin still ignoring his dangling phone, wrapped his arms around Arthur's neck, and pressed his face into it.

Merlin spoke, "We have a lot to catch up on."

Arthur laughed and said, "Yes, but more importantly…"

Arthur pulled back and cupped Merlin's face. The once king pressed his lips to his once servant's. Merlin smiled into the kiss that had been a long, long time coming.


End file.
